A wave of immeasurable sadness swept across a city this morning when it was learned that Ron Litttlefield, the mayor of Chattanooga, had willingly become part of a sham.

The mayor, who acts for all the people of the city, has announced he will hire embattled former Councilwoman Marti Rutherford for just three days in November so she can become eligible for post-employment benefits.

Marti was embroiled in scandal last month after allegations she lived in the wrong district were convincingly proven. Marti finally quieted the firestorm when she resigned from office, but not before bringing mockery and shame to the other council members and those who elected her.

On Monday the Chattanooga mayor, who had publicly distanced himself from the uproar until now, violated the same public trust when he, in surely an effort of friendship and kindness, revealed he too would mock life’s rule book with what can best be described as “a little lie” to hoodwink the city’s insurance carriers.

Understand, I feel sorry for Marti Rutherford and I believe the 61-year-old woman will someday need medical benefits, but without life’s rules we don’t have standards and, if we fail those standards, none of us have a chance.

I believe Marti thought she was living “a little lie.” But by the time the flames had reached their zenith, after she had gotten a lawyer and smeared herself in gallons of printer’s ink and yards of video tape, that lie had grown into something none of us want to be – a pugnacious cheat.

When she finally resigned from office, there was a collective sigh and all that remained was the question of sanity in anyone who would run such a gauntlet for only $18,000 a year.

But now, in a very sad twist, the mayor himself has revealed a disregard for life’s rules by abusing his power and giving Marti “a little job” in a move that regretfully has the same early markings that “a little lie” does.

You see, the “city” doesn’t offer employee benefits – its citizens, the people, do. And, with kindergarteners all over town being taught “two wrongs don’t make a right,” you can well anticipate an immediate outcry that will put Marti’s own fiasco into the shadows.

The mayor said he expects “political repercussions” over his decision, but that is hardly as worrisome as the larger scope that will place Ron Littlefield under such intense scrutiny for his willingness to also play outside the lines.

The rules are in place for a reason, be they in an employee benefits manual or The Holy Bible. Everybody who plays in a contest is expected to know the rules adroitly and is expected to abide by them to the letter.

When one does not play by the rules, be it living in one district while representing another or fostering a three-day “little lie” to an insurance carrier, there are penalties and, believe me, politics has nothing to do with what is right and what is wrong.

How do we now explain that the mayor of Chattanooga has awarded a cheater with three days on the people’s payroll so that then the two of them can cheat those same people who will pay the difference in the first cheater’s post-employment medical benefits?

Today that is the toughest question in town and, as it is answered in the coming days, you might brace yourself for what happens when somebody tells “a little lie.”

royexum@aol.com